In the midst of a monkey pox epidemic in many countries, researchers here have said that the chances of a pandemic are low and that the virus can be curbed by strong surveillance, isolation of confirmed cases, contact tracking and “off-label use”. smallpox vaccines for “ring vaccination”.
The team of public health and infectious disease researchers said that the outbreak of monkey pox in non-endemic areas is a reminder that infectious diseases and pathogens are not limited by geographical boundaries. The issue of health or emerging disease in one part of the world is a challenge for the rest of the world, they said.
They argued that although no cases have been reported from India so far, there is a need for better preparedness.
The researchers said this in a review paper published in the prestigious journal Indian Pediatrics’ with peer reviewers.
The review paper by epidemiologist and infectious disease physician Dr. Chandrakant Lahariya and his team looked at evidence of the possibility of smallpox outbreaks in newer environments and also looked at available treatments and vaccines.
They also looked at the possibility of the disease developing into a pandemic.
Noting that the majority of cases of monkey pox are detected in men who have sex with men (MSM), the authors said that the trend may be related to the timely seeking of care by individuals belonging to this group.
They also mentioned the need to study the route of transmission of the disease through sex, arguing that sexual intercourse is merely a framework that provides close physical contact, and therefore an opportunity to spread.
They said that aphid disease is unlikely to become a pandemic due to many factors, mainly because it is not a new virus and has been around the world for five decades.
They said that there is a logical understanding of the structure, transmission and pathogenesis of the smallpox virus. In addition, the virus in most cases causes only mild illnesses, as evidenced by the occurrence of zero deaths since the onset of the ongoing epidemic, the authors of the study reported.
The researchers also said that the virus is less contagious and requires close personal contact to be transmitted, unlike SARS-CoV-2, which had a respiratory prevalence and a high rate of asymptomatic cases.
Another reason they gave was the availability of some smallpox vaccines, which, they said, could be offered for “off-label” use and produced in bulk around the world.
Finally, they said it was a relatively stable virus with a very slow mutation rate.
In this context, most infectious disease experts believe that the outbreak of monkey pox will not turn into a pandemic.
There is every reason, now, to believe that monkey pox outbreaks can be effectively treated and the virus reduced by isolating confirmed cases, quarantining contacts, and using approved smallpox vaccines as “off-label” for “ring vaccination.” ». “, The authors stated in their article.
However, they emphasized that vaccination of the general population was not currently recommended.
The authors also stressed that the ability to sequence the genome enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic could be useful for monitoring the branch and chain of infection.
However, given that monkeypox is a DNA virus that has a slow mutation rate, the repetitive genomic sequence has limited value, they said.
In addition, the MPXV genome has about 200,000 nucleotide bases, six times the size of severe coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2), so sequencing the genome is a bit more difficult, time consuming, and costly, and with limited he said.
The authors of the paper also provided information on various smallpox vaccines that can be used off-label to prevent monkeypox. However, they said that mass vaccination is not needed under any circumstances.
The authors recommended that patients at high risk for complications, including children and pregnant women, should be admitted to hospital for closer follow-up and clinical care.
For a pregnant woman, if she presents with a mild and uncomplicated case, immediate hospital treatment is not recommended, they suggested. Although complicated cases should be admitted immediately, the disease is not a direct indication for a caesarean section for childbirth, they said.
“No cases of monkey pox virus and disease have been reported from India in the ongoing epidemic. However, there is a need for better preparedness. Strict port entry and early identification, isolation and case management are key response.
“Disease surveillance, contact detection and ring vaccination with available smallpox vaccines, approved for off-label use for monkeypox, are key strategies for the affected population,” they said.
The authors suggested that outbreaks in non-endemic countries should be used as an opportunity by India and other countries to strengthen public health oversight and the health system’s ability to prepare for epidemics and epidemics. (Only the title and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff. The rest of the content is automatically generated by a synergistic flow.)
